The crew of seven men and one woman is a record size for the space shuttle.

''We're still trying to figure out whether we're a gaggle, a flock or a herd, but we're certainly going to enjoy flying this flight,'' said Bonnie Dunbar, one of NASA's mission specialists.

Challenger is set to blast off at noon Wednesday. Because of launch restrictions, Playalinda Beach will close this evening and will not reopen until at least two hours after liftoff.

While in space, the crew will split into two 12-hour shifts to do experiments in material sciences, life sciences, navigation and other areas.

The $175 million experiment payload is sponsored entirely by West Germany. The $1 billion Spacelab system, which includes the laboratory module and other components, was built by the European Space Agency of which West Germany is a member.